Looters will be punished: Swarnalatha

Hyderabad: The oracle Swarnalatha, who performed the “Rangam” ritual at the famed Ujjain Mahankali temple in Secunderabad on Monday, expressed anguish about people looting wealth and warned that they would be punished.

“People who came to me (the Goddess), those who had 25 paisa or 50 paisa were a happy lot once. But now everyone is trying to loot as much as possible but are yet dissatisfied,” she said. Standing atop a wet clay pot inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the oracle, with tambora in hand, said it was her duty to protect the good and punish the wrong doers.

“Ashirwadinchedani nene, rakshinchedi nene, sikshinchedi nene. Kani evaru entha dosukunna, yevaru entha chesina, tappani sari shikshita nenu, rakshista nenu (I am the one who blesses you, protects you and punishes you. But if you loot, I will definitely punish),” she said. When told about the delayed monsoon and people, especially farmers, suffering a lot, she laughed and said, “You are worried about rains, but you don’t think about me. Yet I will protect my people.”

The temple representative and a priest who posed a volley of questions reminded that they were offering prayers, performing pujas and that people had faith and feared her. The priest said that the Chief Minister and the ministers were taking all steps to celebrate the festival in a big way.